The Chicago "L" is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the fourth-largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length, at 102.8 miles (165.4 km) long as of 2014, and the third-busiest rapid transit system in the United States. In 2016, the "L" had 1,492 rail cars, eight different routes, and 145 train stations. In 2023, the system had 117,447,000 rides, or about 373,800 per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Berwyn is a temporarily closed 'L' station on the CTA's Red Line. It is located at 1121 West Berwyn Avenue in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The adjacent stations are Bryn Mawr, located about 3⁄8 mile (0.60 km) to the north, and Argyle, about 1⁄3 mile (0.54 km) to the south, both still in service and serving as alternate stations. Four tracks pass through the station, but there is only single island platform in the center of the tracks. The two western tracks are temporarily out of service for construction and trains on both the Red and Purple Lines pass Berwyn on the eastern tracks without stopping. When the station reopens, it will consist of an island platform with Red Line trains stopping on the inner tracks and Purple Line Express trains bypassing the station on the outer tracks. Berwyn is named for the Berwyn station in the community of the same name, which is west of Philadelphia. Many of the roads in the Edgewater neighborhood are named after stations on the former Pennsylvania Railroad Main Line.
Loyola is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, served by the Red Line. It is located at 1200 West Loyola Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station has high ridership by students from the nearby Lakeshore Campus of Loyola University Chicago. The Red Line right-of-way runs directly through the southwest corner of the campus. Purple Line weekday rush hour express service use the outside tracks but do not stop at this station.
Belmont is an 'L' station serving the CTA's North Side Main Line. It is served at all times by the Red and Brown Lines, and by the Purple Line Express during weekday rush hours. It is located at 945 West Belmont Avenue in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is an elevated station with two island platforms serving four tracks; Brown and Purple Line trains share the outer tracks while Red Line trains run on the inner tracks. Along with residential areas, the neighborhood surrounding Belmont contains many eclectic shops, bars, and restaurants and active nightlife. The station is one of the more heavily utilized on the system serving as a busy transfer point, and also as a terminal when the Brown Line operates as a shuttle service to and from Kimball late at night and early in the morning. It is nearly identical to Fullerton, minus the terminal status.
Merchandise Mart is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, located in the Near North Side neighborhood at 350 North Wells Street in Chicago, Illinois. The station is elevated above street level, on a steel structure. The turnstiles and customer assistant booth of the station are located on the second level of the Merchandise Mart itself. This is the main entrance to the station.
Chicago, is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown and Purple Lines. Located in the Near North Side neighborhood at 300 W Chicago Avenue at West Chicago Avenue and North Franklin Street in Chicago, Illinois, the station opened in 1900 as part of the original series of stations on the Northwestern Elevated. A high density of art galleries and several schools is in the vicinity of the station, including the Moody Bible Institute.
Morse is an 'L' station on the CTA's Red Line. It is located at 1358 West Morse Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station was formerly known as Rogers Park or Morse-Rogers Park. There is an entrance/exit on West Morse Avenue, featuring multiple turnstiles, an ATM, and fare machines. There is also an unattended entrance/exit with a single turnstile on Lunt Avenue. Purple Line weekday rush hour express service use the outside tracks but do not stop at this station.
Thorndale is an 'L' station on the CTA's Red Line. It is located at 1118 West Thorndale Avenue in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The adjacent stations are Granville, located about one quarter mile to the north, and Bryn Mawr, about one half mile to the south. Four tracks pass through the station, but there is only a single island platform in the center of the tracks; Purple Line weekday rush hour express service use the outside tracks but do not stop at this station.
Wilson is an 'L' station on the CTA's North Side Main Line, located at 4620 North Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is served at all times by the Red Line and by the Purple Line on weekdays at rush hour.
Fullerton is an 'L' station on the CTA's North Side Main Line. It is served at all times by Red and Brown Line trains; Purple Line Express trains also stop at the station during weekday rush hours. It is an elevated station with two island platforms, serving four tracks, located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. Brown and Purple Line trains share the outer tracks while Red Line trains run on the inner tracks. As well as being an important transfer station, the station serves the Lincoln Park Campus of DePaul University.
Cottage Grove, is an 'L' station and the terminus of the CTA Green Line's East 63rd branch, located in the Woodlawn neighborhood. The station is situated at 800 East 63rd Street and opened on April 23, 1893.
Pulaski is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Green Line. Pulaski is located at the intersection of Lake Street and Pulaski Road in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station opened in March 1894.
Pulaski is an 'L' station on the CTA's Orange Line, which runs between Midway Airport and The Loop; it is situated between Midway and Kedzie stations. Pulaski is located at Pulaski Road and 51st Street on the Southwest Side of Chicago, Illinois. The station is within the Archer Heights neighborhood, which is both residential and commercial, and the station itself is in a commercial district on Pulaski Road. Pulaski opened on October 31, 1993, the opening date of the Orange Line.
Damen is a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L", currently serving the O'Hare branch of its Blue Line. Opened on May 6, 1895, as Robey, it is the oldest station on the Blue Line. The station serves the popular Bucktown and Wicker Park neighborhoods, and is consistently in the top 40 highest-ridership "L" stations. It has two wooden side platforms and a brick station house at street level. The west platform, serving southbound trains, contains a tower that has never been used but is a relic of the station's past. The station is served by three bus routes on Damen, Milwaukee, and North Avenues, which are each descended from streetcar lines on those streets in the early 20th century. The Blue Line has owl service; while the surrounding streetcar lines also had owl service in the early 20th century, the modern bus services do not.
Racine is an 'L' station on the CTA's Blue Line. The station serves the Near West Side neighborhood and the western end of the UIC campus.
Pulaski is a station on the Chicago 'L' system, serving the Blue Line's Forest Park branch. The station is located in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway and serves the West Garfield Park neighborhood. A long ramp connects the platform to the station house on the Pulaski Road overpass. There was originally a similar entrance from the Keeler Avenue overpass; the entrance from Keeler was closed to cut costs on January 15, 1973, but retained as an exit, and the exit was fully closed on December 28, 1978. The structure for this exit still stands but it is closed to the public.
Harlem is a station on the 'L' system, serving the Blue Line's Forest Park branch in Forest Park, Illinois. The station was built with an auxiliary entrance at Circle Avenue that was eventually converted to an single turnstile facility. The Circle Avenue entrance reopened as an auxiliary entrance/exit on September 26, 2009, at 4 PM. To the south of the station is the Ferrara Candy Company A Roos chest-making factory was located west of the station and Circle Avenue until it was torn down in 2013 to make way for a new recreation park that opened there in 2018. The Roos company closed for good in 1951.
Kostner, formerly known as Kildare, is an 'L' station on the CTA's Pink Line. It is located in the K-Town neighborhood of the North Lawndale community area, often just referred to as Lawndale. Kostner station was originally opened as Kildare. During reconstruction in 2003, its primary entrance was moved one block west to Kostner Avenue and the Kildare entrance became an auxiliary entrance.
The Metropolitan main line was a rapid transit line of the Chicago "L" system from 1895 to 1958. It ran west from downtown to a junction at Marshfield station. At this point the Garfield Park branch continued westward, while the Douglas Park branch turned south, and the Logan Square branch turned north with the Humboldt Park branch branching from it. In addition to serving the Chicago "L", its tracks and those of the Garfield Park branch also carried the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, an interurban that served Chicago's western suburbs, between 1905 and 1953.
Marshfield was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L" in service between 1895 and 1954. Constructed by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad, it was the westernmost station of the Metropolitan's main line, which then diverged into three branches. Marshfield was also served by the Aurora Elgin and Chicago Railway (AE&C) and its descendant the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E), an interurban, between 1905 and 1953.
